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Soul Beat Africa
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Kitengesa Community Library Social Inclusion Programme

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In June 2012 the Kitengesa Community Library launched an initiative designed to counter isolation of deaf children in its community. The library partnered with the Good Samaritan School for the Deaf, providing boarding and day students from the school with lessons in computer use and English language, as well as an opportunity to interact with their hearing peers. Through Skype, the learners are also communicating with volunteers overseas.

Communication Strategies

From June to August 2012, the deaf children received English lessons from a visiting volunteer. Since then, students from the Good Samaritan school visit the library every week, to use the computers, read, meet their friends and play games, and share space with the library's 650 regular users from the community. In this way, the library brings hearing students into contact with Good Samaritan students, helping overcome prejudice.

The library has also established a Ugandan Sign Language Club with 30 members, 25 of whom can now communicate effectively with deaf students. Deaf students from Good Samaritan teach sign language to club members. The library also attracts volunteers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, who helped develop the programme and who offer English lessons. Every Saturday, children from Good Samaritan come to the library to use Skype to chat to their friends in Canada.

Development Issues

Disability, Education

Key Points

Before the library introduced its social inclusion programme, Good Samaritan students did not come to the library and were isolated from the larger community. About 20 children from Good Samaritan visit the library every week and they have all become proficient in using Skype. Three of the scholars who help run the library have become proficient in Ugandan Sign Language and the members of the Sign Language Club can now also talk to the deaf children. This has resulted in helping to break down the isolation of the deaf children.

In November 2012, the Kitengesa Community Library Social Inclusion Programme was the Africa award winner of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) award for social inclusion.

Partners

Kitengesa Community Library, Good Samaritan School for the Deaf

Sources

EIFL website and Friends of African Libraries website on April 4 2013.